911th participates in Operation Arctic Care 2010

  • Published
  • By SrA Jamie Perry
  • 911 AW/PA
PITTSBURGH IAP ARS --  Two members of the 911th Aeromedical Staging Squadron recently returned from "Operation Arctic Care," a two-week mission to remote areas of Alaska.
Operation Arctic Care, a mission focused toward providing necessary medical care and education to the residents of remote areas of Alaska marks its 16th year that medical teams have converged to treat general health patients, in addition to providing dental care, eye exams and veterinary procedures.

Lt. Daniel Boda, 911th Aeromedical Staging Squadron nurse and Tech. Sgt. Audra Cubbage, joined teams from the Air Force, Army and Navy, including Reserve, Guard and active duty units, converging on 11 different remote villages near Kotzebue, Alaska. The Air Force Reserve Command will be leading the operation this year.
Lieutenant Boda was part of a traveling team which went to various towns such as Kobuk, Kotz, Noorvik and Selawik Alaska. They provided health education to school students to teach children about nutrition, infection control, suicide prevention, drugs and alcohol. They also conducted CPR classes and helped perform sports physicals.
"Getting out to some of the smaller villages and seeing how well the children and community receive you is amazing. How they all welcome you into their homes, shows their great appreciation for what we do," said Lieutenant Boda.

Tech. Sgt. Cubbage assisted the command center in preparing medical reports, medical coding and tracking the movement of military members through different villages.
"I really enjoyed the experience of getting to see Alaska first hand. Just seeing how high the cost of living is and how isolated many of the villages are really makes you appreciate things a lot more. Just the fact that their normal modes of transportation were snowmobiles and other types of snow vehicles was unbelievable to me," said Sergeant Cubbage.

With no vehicle access to the sites, the teams were airlifted in by Army Blackhawk helicopters. The Pittsburgh team joined military medical professionals from 30 states in what has become the largest recurring joint military medical and logistics training exercise of its kind, while providing real-world humanitarian assistance and medical care.

"This is truly a win-win opportunity for both the military and Alaska residents," said Col. Christine Barber, project manager for this year's operation. "Arctic Care helps simulate preparing and conducting medical outreach operations in the time of crisis, conflict or disaster, while at the same time filling a vital need for U.S. citizens. Our teams will be seeing patients who have to wait year-to-year to get even the most basic of medical care, such as dental check-up and eye exams."